The Memorandum of Understanding with Iran has put the United States “in a great position,” regardless of how talks with Tehran ultimately unfold, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday.

“If the negotiation is successful, which obviously we want it to be successful, you have an Iran that is permanently transformed, that’s not funding regional terrorism and instability, that has permanently given up on any nuclear weapons ambition and that as a result is welcomed back into the world economy,” Vance told Laura Ingraham of Fox News‘s “The Ingraham Angle.”

However, if Tehran refuses to make concessions and the talks fall apart, “their nuclear program is still destroyed, their conventional military is still destroyed, and the United States is still in a much stronger position relative to the Iranians,” Vance continued.

“We have all the cards in negotiation, we obviously want it to be successful, but even if it’s not successful, we’ve accomplished the core mission, which is to ensure that the Iranians never have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding: “It’s a win-win outcome for the American people.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the regime’s top negotiator, said earlier on Tuesday that Tehran would not take part in further talks until the conditions outlined in the MoU were met, including an end to the fighting on all war fronts. He said the current negotiations were aimed at ensuring the United States fulfilled its commitments.

Vance in the Fox News interview attributed the Islamic Republic’s tough public negotiating stances to “a real push and pull in their system.”

“There are people within the Iranian system who recognize the way that they have done business for 47 years is a mistake and they want to turn over a new leaf,” he claimed.

Vance said the talks were intended in part to test whether Iran was serious, adding that Tehran would have to make meaningful concessions, “not just say the right things.”

“We care a lot less about what the Iranians say. We care a lot more about what they do,” he added. “We see some positive signs, obviously we see some negative signs.”

Vance concluded by saying that even if the talks failed to produce a final deal, the Trump administration retained a range of options and had already “accomplished a whole lot for the American people.”

In an interview with the “The Michael Knowles Show” podcast on Tuesday, Vance said the negotiations still had “a lot more game to play,” adding that U.S. President Donald Trump was “constantly trying to figure out how to gain an edge for the American people.”

“One of the things I find just fascinating and frustrating about the Iranians is they’ll say, ‘no, no, there aren’t peace talks ongoing, but there are technical talks between the United States and Iran about the peace deal,'” he continued.

“It’s a Persian negotiating tactic and a Persian rhetorical device that I don’t understand, but that is that is the way that the Iranians have done this,” according to Vance.

“If the Iranians are willing to make the commitments that we would like them to make and are willing to back those up with verifiable milestones, then we are going to change our relationship with Iran,” he said. “And if they don’t do that, then nothing has really changed except for what we’ve already accomplished from the military campaign, which is a lot.”

Trump has considered resuming “all-out war” with Iran, holding multiple conversations in recent days with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine about additional strikes, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.

The talks focused on whether the United States should walk away from the talks and resume large-scale attacks, a move some officials described as “finishing the job,” according to the report.

Trump has not made a final decision but has told aides he believes another round of fighting could derail diplomacy and harm the chances of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, the officials said.

Trump has also told aides he is comfortable with negotiations continuing beyond the Aug. 18 deadline set out in the MoU, according to the report.

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